Only 41% of homes in England meet the recommended Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of 'C' or above, an increase from last year’s 40%.
The figures come from new 2023 research from professional house buying company Open Property Group.
The City of London leads the list with 63% of properties meeting the recommended energy rating (no change on 2022), followed by Salford with 59% (+1%).
Birmingham ranked last for the second year running, with only 33% of homes meeting the 'C' or higher energy rating rating, while Bath and Brighton dropped below the national average with 38%.
In terms of regions, 46% of properties in London met the EPC band of 'C' or above, a figure that drops to 36% for the lowest scoring region - Yorkshire and The Humber.
Open Property Group managing director, Jason Harris-Cohen said: ‘There has been a lot of noise around 'greening up' the UK's property stock, and despite multiple campaigns and press coverage, homeowners are woefully behind the Government's target. The pressure is really building for landlords especially, as we are less than 2 years away from the new EPC deadline. As things stand, a huge chunk of buy-to-let properties will be illegal to let from the end of 2025, unless the properties receive energy efficiency upgrades to achieve a minimum EPC rating of C. It's interesting that Yorkshire and The Humber was the worst region for homes with 'C' ratings. Buy-to-let yields in the region are some of the strongest in the UK - perhaps landlords are reluctant to compromise their strong income by investing in eco improvements – a sentiment we feel is being repeated across the UK.’
The EPC scale is ranked from A to G, where A is the most efficient in terms of likely fuel costs and carbon dioxide emissions.
The UK Government have proposed a bill where all rental properties would need to meet a compulsory energy performance certificate rating of band "C" on new tenancies by December 2025.
